Ain't No Sunshine
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day one hundred and fifty-one: SUNSHINE GIRLS #8 Summer is over, the girls are reunited... but will they spread sunshine?


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle, and then a third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh cycle. Now here's cycle 8!_

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**"Ain't No Sunshine"  
Rachel & Quinn  
Sequel to Divergence, Sunshine, Beams & Rays, Solar Eclipse, Let the Sunshine In, Sunrise Sunset, and Dawn**

Pop had presented her with a brand new school bag that morning, filled with the supplies she'd need for the start of first grade. Rachel couldn't wait, both for the start of the school year and the chance to use her new things. It was only a week away now.

She had just finished pulling everything out of the bag for the fourth time, to look at them again, when she heard the doorbell. Dad had a tendency to forget his keys, and he'd gone out to the store, so she sprang to her feet and dashed down the stairs. When she saw who was at the door though, she stalled midway down the staircase.

"Look who's back from vacation," Pop smiled, standing by the open door, where Judy Fabray stood behind her younger daughter. The two girls were quiet as Pop and Judy chatted about their summers. The Fabrays had taken their daughters to Europe for most of the girls' time out of school. After the chatter had been spent, the parents looked to their daughters.

"Quinn, I'll pick you up at four thirty, alright?" Judy patted her daughter's shoulders. Quinn looked up at her, just as quiet as she'd been since they had arrived.

"Okay." Judy laughed and kissed her forehead before nodding goodbye to Pop and Rachel and heading off.

"Well, come on in," Pop told the small blonde. She did, though not yet moving toward Rachel, who remained in the staircase. "Lunch will be ready soon, mac and cheese," Pop told her. "Why don't you girls go up and play until then?" Rachel almost spoke.

"Okay," Quinn spoke with the same quiet voice she'd given her mother before moving to the stairs. Rachel turned to go up as well at that point.

Coming into her room, Rachel knelt down to gather up her school things and put them back in her new bag. When she was done, she went to hang the bag on her closet handle. Quinn hadn't said or done a thing since they'd walked in, and once Rachel was done putting away her things, she didn't have much to say either.

For all the times one of them had been dropped off at the other's house to play, this was the first time it didn't involve either of them putting forth a scheme to find someone to spread their sunshine on to. The way it was, they were the ones who needed it the most right then and there.

Eventually, Pop called for them to come and eat. The quiet girls made their way out of Rachel's room and down into the bathroom, taking their turns at washing their hands before going into the kitchen.

"Okay, here we are, my famous Cheese, Cheese, More Cheese," Pop brought the plates to the girls. "Eat up. It's not too often that I'll cook, but I do make exceptions for special occasions." He gave the girls a smile each and moved to sit at his own meal.

The girls dug in to their mac and cheese, which disappeared quicker than usual, having no talk to keep them away from their forks. When they finished so early, it caught Pop's attention. "You two want seconds?" They shook their heads. "Alright… dessert then?" They perked up on reflex, then nodded. "Alright," Pop smiled and got up to get it for them. Once again, they made quick work of emptying their dishes. Pop had kept his eye on them, picking up on the awkwardness. He cleared his throat.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked him.

"Oh, nothing, I just…" he shrugged. "Bad morning," he explained with a hint of drama. It was the perfect bait for the Sunshine Girls to go into their own 'phone booth' to trade their true identity in for their secret ones, the all mighty Beams and Rays.

The girls looked to one another. Pop smiled to himself… it seemed they'd taken the bait. He was good to carry on his bit of performance, when Rachel looked back to him.

"Can we watch a movie?" she asked. Pop blinked, looking to his daughter, to Quinn. They were both watching him, waiting.

"Sure, Rae-Rae, go ahead." The girls got up and moved to the living room. Pop watched them go, feeling a genuine sadness now, not for himself but for them.

The girls went and sat in the living room to watch the movie. They sat on either end of the couch, neither of them making a sound except for the occasional reaction to the movie. They were completely tuned in to the screen, not seeing how Pop observed them. They finished the movie and, with neither of them having any idea of what to do, anything better than sitting there on the couch and watching another movie.

Neither of them brought up what had happened, right before the Fabrays had left for Europe. They had spent weeks upon weeks, left on their own with that moment, not moving toward a resolution but digging the chasm wider. They just sat on the couch, watching the second movie until Judy Fabray came to take her daughter back.

It was the last time Quinn had entered the Berry home; Rachel never returned to the Fabrays.

THE END


End file.
